AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Sunday.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on ATRC. Zacks Research cut AtriCure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Freedom Capital upgraded AtriCure to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Citizens Jmp cut their price target on AtriCure from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer cut AtriCure from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AtriCure in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.43.

AtriCure Stock Performance

Shares of AtriCure stock opened at $29.07 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.39. AtriCure has a 12-month low of $27.31 and a 12-month high of $43.18. The company has a current ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -121.13 and a beta of 1.43.

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The medical device company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.10. AtriCure had a negative net margin of 2.14% and a negative return on equity of 1.15%. The firm had revenue of $140.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.50 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.33) EPS. AtriCure’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that AtriCure will post -0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AtriCure

In other AtriCure news, insider Vinayak Doraiswamy sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total value of $149,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 96,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,781.25. This represents a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AtriCure

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its stake in shares of AtriCure by 197.1% in the third quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 811 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in AtriCure during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in AtriCure by 1,818.6% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,073 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in AtriCure in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AtriCure by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,146 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the period. 99.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AtriCure Company Profile

AtriCure, Inc is a medical device company focused on the development, manufacture and marketing of innovative therapies to treat atrial fibrillation (AF) and related conditions. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Mason, Ohio, AtriCure has established itself as a leader in surgical ablation devices designed to interrupt the errant electrical pathways that cause AF. The company’s solutions are used by cardiac surgeons and electrophysiologists to reduce the risk of stroke and improve patient outcomes in the treatment of both paroxysmal and persistent AF.

The company’s product portfolio centers on its Synergy Surgical Ablation System, which delivers controlled radiofrequency energy in a minimally invasive format, and the cryoICE Cryoablation System, which offers an alternative ablation modality using precise freezing techniques.